Text: “Give them according to their deeds, and according to
the wickedness of their endeavours; give them after the work of their own
hands; render to them their desert.” Psalm
28:4.

Good morning, constantly oppressed and concerned,
Christian! The 21st Century has seen so many churches closing
their doors due to lack of interest; so much open apostasy being first
accepted, then practiced by professing ‘Christians’; so much ungodliness being
openly promoted on national television screens; social media; Hollywood movies;
and even in the classrooms of our local schools.

In recent times, there has been a call from Humanists
and Atheists to have Britain re-specified as a ‘Non-Christian Nation’.
Political life, and the lives of our social and religious leaders, have become
a byword for financial and sexual corruption. Wickedness and unbelief are
at the most dangerous level of ungodliness that I have witnessed during my 68
years living within the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
(U.K.). FACT. If ever there was a need for National repentance from sin -
it is right now!

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a
man/woman soweth, that shall he/she also reap. For he that soweth to his
flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

Verse 4. “…The
wickedness of their endeavours. Ungodly reader, what will be your lot when the Lord deals with
you? Our ‘endeavours’ are taken as facts; God takes the will for the deed
and punishes or rewards accordingly.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David,
page 140)

The motives of the heart, and the thoughts of the
mind, are equated fully with our actions in the sight of our Lord God
Almighty. Thus, when a man looks upon a woman, or vice versa, a woman a
man, with lust - in God’s mind that person has already committed
adultery! Thus, our motives, our weaknesses and faults, are all concluded
under the heading of SIN in the eyes of our pure, and infallibly sinless, Lord
God.

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say unto you,
That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery
with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)

Adultery, in the Old Testament dispensation, was a
capital offence punishable by death. Nowadays it is looked at as ‘normal’
social behaviour, and promoted and encouraged on our television screens
continually!

Has God’s Holiness changed? Has God suddenly
changed His mind from being a Holy Lord God of absolute wrath against sin to a
God that condones such adulterous practice and promotion? Never!
God forbid! All that is not Christ-like, is SIN.

“God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son
of man, that He should repent; hath He not said, and shall He not do it?
Or hath He spoken, and shall not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)

No! The Lord God is a
Holy Lord God - He never changes, He must punish all sin! If we refuse
His offer of Salvation in Christ Jesus, we will have our just deserts!

Verse 4. “Give them
according to their deeds. Great God, Thou hast from the beginning been only occupied in saving
men. Thy very benevolence towards mankind solicits Thy thunders against
these corrupters of society. They labour incessantly to put men far away
from Thee, O my God, and in return Thou wilt put them far away from Thee
forever and have the desperate consolation of being such themselves to all
Eternity. Frightful necessity of hating Thee forever! (Jean
Massillon Baptiste 1663-1742)

Atheistic, and militant detractor of Bible-based
Christian faith, beware! Your efforts to become popular and gain favour
on national television screens; social media; Hollywood movies; and even in the
classrooms of our local schools, will eventually reap you a just desert of
God’s fearful wrath against such blatant opposition to His Word. Your
unbelief is enough to see your never-dying soul damned to a Christ-rejecter’s
Hell for Eternity - think more, then, of what our Holy Lord God will do to you
there for hindering His Gospel message and causing other souls not to take heed
to His Word. Your JUST DESERTS are being laid up for you as you read this
message. How sad.

Verse 4. “…Render to
them their desert. Meditate on God’s
righteousness, that it is not only is will, but His nature to punish sin.
God cannot but hate sin, because He is Holy; and He cannot but punish
sin. God must not forgo His own nature to gratify our humours.
(Christopher Fowler1610-1678)

“He (the Psalmist) prayeth against his enemies, being
led by the infallible Spirit of prophecy, looking through these men to the
enemies of Christ and of His people in all ages.” (David
Dickson1583-1662)

Thought: “Give them
according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours;
give them after the work of their own hands; render to them their
desert.” There are no unbelievers in Hell - but once there, they
stay there!

Text: “Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the
workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in
their hearts.” Psalm
28:3.

Good morning, Spiritually separated Christian! One
of the most important, yet most ignored Christian doctrine today is the
doctrine of Spiritual Separation - separation from the world, the flesh,
and the Devil, and from all forms of sin, falsehood, and false, erroneous
beliefs. God commands it - yet those who profess to be God’s people are
either totally ignorant of His command, or completely reject His explicitly
written instruction.

Thus saith the Lord: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers;
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what
communion hath light with darkness? And what concord (agreement) hath
Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he/she that believeth (believes and
continually believes) with an infidel (an unbeliever)?…Wherefore come ye out
from among them, and be ye SEPARATE, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be
My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

Verse 3. “Draw me not
away with the wicked. They shall
be dragged off to Hell like felons of old drawn on a hurdle to Tyburn (a place
of public execution), like logs drawn to the fire, like fagots to the
oven. David fears lest he should be bound up in their bundle, drawn to
their doom.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 139)

To illustrate the importance of the doctrine of
Spiritual Separation, as commanded in the New Testament inspired writing of
Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians above - let me revisit a Bible Lesson I sent
out almost ten years ago. Here it is for your enlightenment:

The Importance of Doctrine - Matthew 16:6-12 (Sent out 29/11/2004)

Text: "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to
wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrines
which is according to Godliness...from such withdraw thyself." (1 Timothy
6:3-5)

Good morning, well-taught Christian! Not enough for
you to leave all your Christian instruction to the Pastor’s efforts on Sunday
mornings - you have the privilege of an open Bible; access to God the Spirit
via instant prayers; and the intercessions of Christ Jesus Himself as High
Priest and Mediator. Therefore, all you need to be well-taught in the doctrine
of God is close at hand and, praise God, you avail yourself of these important
privileges.

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of
truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

Too many professing the Name of Christ today feel no
obligation to either fellowship with the Lord in private prayer, nor take time
out to study and learn sound doctrines for themselves. Thus, the Pastor is
given all the responsibility of teaching his congregation important Scriptural
truths. This should not be, dear friend, there are too many dangers in a
one-man-teaching-ministry! If the Pastor goes astray, all will stray
also!

Lethal Leaven: (Ephesians 5:6-7) Leaven in the literal sense is
yeast, a substance which, when mixed amongst flour whilst baking bread, causes
the dough to rise into a loaf-shaped quantity of bread.

Figuratively speaking, leaven is anything which, when
mixed with say a person’s character, modifies or influences the whole nature of
that person.

In the Spiritual sense, leaven is influence on belief.
The doctrinal practice of the Pharisees and Sadducees of today’s selected Bible
reading was likened unto lethal leaven by Christ; leaven which, when mixed with
true unadulterated, child-like faith, would permeate the whole doctrinal
beliefs of the person, and soon corrupt their faith in God.

It was ‘leaven’ such as this that the evil Balaam
sowed among the children of Israel - he couldn’t curse them, but he could
corrupt them, and did so to his Eternal peril. (Numbers Chapters 22: to 25)

Lethal Lessons: (Galatians 1:6-10) Heresy is belief contrary to the
established Scriptural belief of the Christian Church. There have been many
otherwise gifted teachers who, like Sabellius (who introduced the ‘Oneness
heresy’ into his congregations in opposition to the orthodoxy of Trinitarian
belief), have made shipwreck the faith of many of the unlearned. This type of
heretic influence has blighted the faith of Christians since the Church was
founded by Christ Jesus, over two thousand years ago. Such ‘leaven’ is
Spiritually lethal indeed. If the Bible does not teach it - flee fast from
it!

Let these lethal lessons of Church history teach us to
safeguard the integrity of vital Bible doctrines. The Word of God must inform
every belief we hold, otherwise the doctrine and the practice is not worth
having. Canonical Scripture is our only infallible authority to teach and
practice the Christian faith. “God’s Word alone is truth!”

Thought: Sound doctrine today
keeps heretics at bay tomorrow. (2004)

Today’s Thought: “It were
better to be shut up in a pit with serpents that to be compelled to live with
liars.” C.H. Spurgeon. Come out from among them!

Text: “Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto
Thee, when I lift up my hands towards Thy Holy oracle.”

Psalm 28:2.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he/she that cometh to
God must believe that He is (that He exists!), and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him.”

Hebrews 11:6.

Good morning, believing prayer-warrior! It would
be a vain exercise indeed for us to spend our time crying out to a Heaven that
did not hear us; or to a Being that we did not fully believe exists! No.
We are not like the atheist, or the agnostic. We have been blessed with
God’s gift of true Christian faith, and we shall, by His grace, continue to use
that gift of trust to call out to Him in worship, praise, and sincere
petitions. Praise God, He is ALWAYS more than ready to receive our
prayers. Hallelujah!

“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous
(those whom He has made righteous, in Christ Jesus!), and His ears are open
unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do
evil.” (1 Peter 3:12)

But what if the Heavens were as brass, and the Lord
refusing to hear us? What a woeful situation that would be! This
was David’s worst nightmare - and it should be ours too - that for some reason
the Lord was not listening to his prayers.

“Behold (look and understand seriously!), the Lord’s
hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear heavy, that it
cannot hear; BUT your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and
your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. For your
hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have
spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for
justice, nor any pleadeth for truth; they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they
conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.” (Isaiah 59:1-4)

These are the people whose
prayers are NOT heard by the Lord God. Take heed!

“His (God’s) silence is equally full of awe to an
eager supplicant. What a dreadful case should we be in if the Lord should
become forever silent to our prayers!” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David,
page 139)

King Herod, by beheading God’s faithful messenger,
John the Baptist, incurred such a Divine silence - and was forever
doomed. “Then he (Herod) questioned with Him (Jesus) in many words; but
He answered him NOTHING.” What a Divine silence!

“What do we desire God to say? We want Him to let us
know that He hears us; we want to hear Him speak as distinctly to us as we feel
that we have spoken to Him. ’It is said‘, said Rutherford, speaking of
the Saviour’s delay in responding to the request of the Syrophoenician woman,
’He answered not a word’, but it is not said, ‘He heard not a
word.’ Christ often heareth when He doth not answer - His NOT answering is
an answer, and speaks thus - ’Pray on, go on and cry, for the Lord holdeth His
door fast bolted,’ not to keep you out, but that you may know, and knock, and
it shall be opened.” (Philip Bennett Power, 1862)

Verse 1. “…Be not silent
to me. His silence is
equally full of awe to an eager suppliant. What a dreadful case should we
be in if the Lord should become forever silent to our prayers!” (Charles
Haddon Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 139)

Verse 2. “…When I cry
unto Thee. Serious-minded
Christians must take note: it is not a mumbled list of ‘religiously ingrained
words’ that the Psalmist is referring to in this verse; perhaps sent up to the
Lord God while we are half awake and half asleep. No. It is the
alert cry of the regenerate soul that God’s ear is ever open to
hear. When you and I get more serious about our prayer-life, we can
rest assured that the Lord God will get more serious about hearing and
answering our daily petitions. (Dr C.K. McClinton 1947 - ?)

Verse 2. “…When I lift
up my hands toward Thy Holy oracle. Our hands, in Scripture denote our actions, ‘the working of our
hands’. Thus, we must at all times make certain that what we are engaged
in throughout the day is commensurate with the petitions we seek to lift up to
the Lord God at night. If God’s ‘oracle’ is Holy, then it is only open
and attentive to those who lift up Holy hands; actions (including words and
thoughts!) that are sanctified and acceptable to the Presence of a thrice Holy
Lord God of total wrath against all sin. (Dr C.K. McClinton 1947 - ?)

Dictionary Definition: Oracle - (noun) medium or agency of Divine revelation; a
response by or on behalf of God; the place where such responses are given; the
Jewish sanctuary; the Word of God… (The Chambers Dictionary, page 1139)

When seeking to come before God’s Holy Presence in
prayer, we must come to God the Father, through God the Son, Jesus Christ; in
the power of God the Holy Spirit - and all and only by the way of the Cross of
Christ’s full Atonement Sacrifice at Calvary. We can come no other way.
Therefore, it is a Spiritually healthy practice, to commence our time in prayer
to God Almighty with a sincere plea for renewed sanctification, cleansing from
all the sins we have committed that day - in word, thought, or deed. Then
the way is clear for us to worship, praise, thank and petition our High and
Holy Lord God. Let us ’…lift up HOLY hands…’ as we lift up our prayers to
Him.

Thought: We cannot sup
with Satan and sin - then pray at God’s table of grace!

Author:

Dr. C.K. McClinton Ph.D.

BA (Hons) MA: PhD; D. Litt.

Pastor of

Ulster/American Christian Fellowship Ministry

Northern Ireland (Ulster) UK

KENNY McCLINTON was one of the most feared men in Northern Ireland (Ulster). His years of terrorist activity culminated in two life sentences for murder and other acts of terrorist violence. He had become a thorn in the side of the authorities. Even in prison he could not be tamed and found himself in solitary confinement punishment cells fifteen times within one nine month period.